Astrapotherium

Astrapotherium
Temporal range: Early-Mid Miocene (Colhuehuapian-Laventan)
~21.0–11.8 Ma
Skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:†Astrapotheria
Family:†Astrapotheriidae
Genus:†Astrapotherium
Burmeister, 1879
Type species
Astrapotherium magnum
Owen, 1853
Species
  • A. christi
  • A. columnatum
  • A. delimitatum
  • A. ephebicum
  • A. giganteum
  • A. karaikense
  • A. magnum
  • A. nanum
  • A. ruderarium
Synonyms
  • Listriotherium Mercerat 1891
  • Mesembriotherium Moreno 1882
  • Xylotherium Mercerat 1891

Astrapotherium ("Lightning Beast") is an extinct genus of South American mammal which vaguely resembled a cross between a small elephant, and a very large tapir. This peculiar-looking animal was unrelated to modern elephants, and was, instead, related to other extinct South American ungulates. The beast lived in the Early to Middle Miocene.[1] Fossil remains of the type species A. magnus ("Great Lightning Beast") have been found in the Santa Cruz Formation in Argentina. Other fossils have been found in the Deseado, Sarmiento and Aisol Formations of Argentina and Chile (Cura-Mallín).[1]

Description

Restoration

Astrapotherium had an elongated body, with a total length of about 2.5 metres (8.2 ft), a weight of nearly 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb), and relatively short limbs. It had small plantigrade feet, and the hind limbs were significantly weaker than the fore limbs. Its four canine teeth were elongated to form short tusks, and it had broad protruding lower incisors which likely ground against a horny pad in the upper jaw, as in many modern ruminants.[2]

The nostrils were placed high on the head, which might indicate the presence of a trunk, but could equally be due to other reasons, such as an inflatable nasal cavity.

Classification

Restoration of the head by Robert Bruce Horsfall

Cladogram based in the phylogenetic analysis published by Vallejo-Pareja et al., 2015, showing the position of Astrapotherium:[3]

 

Eoastrapostylops

 
 

 

Trigonostylops

 
 

 

Tetragonostylops

 
 

 

Albertogaudrya

 
 

 

Scaglia

 
 

 

Astraponotus

 
 

 

Maddenia

 
 

 

Comahuetherium

 
 

 

Parastrapotherium

 
 

Astrapotheriinae

 

Astrapotherium

 
 

Astrapothericulus

 
 
Uruguaytheriinae

 

Uruguaytherium

 
 

 

 

Hilarcotherium

 
 

Xenastrapotherium

 
 
 

Granastrapotherium

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Paleobiology

Canine tooth at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

The animal was probably at least partially aquatic, living in shallow water and feeding on marsh plants in a similar manner to a modern hippopotamus.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Astrapotherium at Fossilworks.org
  2. 1 2 Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 248. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  3. ↑ M. C. Vallejo-Pareja; J. D. Carrillo; J. W. Moreno-Bernal; M. Pardo-Jaramillo; D. F. Rodriguez-Gonzalez; J. Muñoz-Duran (2015). "Hilarcotherium castanedaii, gen. et sp. nov., a new Miocene astrapothere (Mammalia, Astrapotheriidae) from the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Online edition. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.903960.
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